Selected articles for 2012-08-13

Apple Store Operational Economics. Interesting analysis by Horace Dediu (asymco.com) on Apple Store operation from a jobs-to-be-done perspective. What other retailers spend on sales commisions, Apple spreads on salary over a far larger headcount staff. But “visitors at an Apple store are made to feel they’re getting a service rather than being sold a product. (…) And that’s the key to there being very many visitors. And, incidentally, they happen to buy more things. And also incidentally they come to value the brand more.”

Mat Honan’s Epic Hacking. Still using the same password for different online services? Must read if you care about your online security.

Netflix’s lost year-the inside story of the price hike train wreck. A good recount of how Netflix tried to split its DVD rental and streaming services, and failed.